Bad Blood
by EHfan
Summary: Jacob and Rachel travel to Oregon to discover the cause of a rare blood disorder in three infants.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This story is set just prior to Felix joining the team and prior to Medea. If you look at my other stories, it would fall between The Redeye and The Dress.

Disclaimer: I still say this is fair use, Steven Gallagher, WB, and Jerry Bruckheimer may disagree.

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Special Agent Rachel Young frowned over the file folder in her hand. Sure, she got it, sick babies were bad, but what did that have to do with them? Ok, they had some freaky disease she had never heard of, but still, according to the information they had been given by the Bureau, the cause of the disease was known.

The babies had some protein deficiency. What was the mystery? It wasn't like the other cases they had investigated. This was just a couple of sick babies. She looked over at the man in the seat beside her, Dr. Jacob Hood. He was absorbed in the print-outs they had received from the hospital. She spoke quietly, so as to not disturb the other passengers on their late night flight.

"Hood, what's so special about these babies?" She huffed in affectionate exasperation as the scientist failed to answer. As usual, once he became involved in a problem, the rest of the world ceased to exist. _'Talk about the ability to concentrate.'_ She shook his arm, called out his name again.

"Umm," Jacob blinked, slowing coming back to the here and now. "Did you say something Rachel?"

"What's so special about these babies," she repeated. "I mean, I get it, they're sick. But why did they call for you? It's not like you're a real doctor."

Jacob's lips twitched. "I don't know about that, that PhD in physics seemed pretty damn real to me." Rachel flushed in embarrassment and opened her mouth to explain but he overrode her. "I know what you mean. I'm not a medical doctor. But the problem here isn't medical."

"What do you mean, it's not medical?" She held up the folder, a puzzled look on her face. "According to my orders we're going to Crawford, Oregon 'cause they've got three babies with neonatal purpura whatever."

"Neonatal purpura fulminans. It's not the fact that they suffer from NPF that makes this a case for us. The real concern is that there have been four infants born in that hospital in a two month time span with severe congenital Protein S Deficiency."

"Four? My orders say three."

"The first infant born with the deficiency has already died."

Rachel's eyes widened at Hood's flat tone. _'Damn, this one is going to be bad.'_ She knew that Hood had a problem when there were deaths associated with their cases. She figured it reminded him of his wife.

Jacob turned in his seat to face her. "What you have to understand is that severe congenital Protein S Deficiency is rare. It's estimated that only 1 in 2000 people have the genetic defect that causes it. The odds of all eight of the parents being carriers of the defective gene in a town the size of Crawford is…"

"Really, really big." Rachel cut in. "So it didn't happen naturally. They need you to find out what caused the genetic mutation?"

"Umhm. The authorities have already ruled out the obvious, no buried toxic waste, no local industries contaminating the air or water, no environmental causes they can identify."

"What about the moms? Maybe they took some kind of drug, or maybe they ate or drank something that caused the protein deficiency."

"No, the women all shared the same obstetrician." Jacob flipped though his files. "Here's her report. According to her none of the women were prescribed or took anything other than the normal neonatal vitamins. And if there were problems with the food or water supply then you would expect more than four pregnancies to be affected."

Rachel raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Maybe they were taking the kind of drugs that aren't prescribed. Didn't their doctor think of that?"

"It's statistically unlikely. I mean, all four women would have had to take the same drug at the same stage of pregnancy."

"Yeah, but according to you, it's statistically unlikely that these babies would have this deficiency, but they do." She snorted. "I've read the files. Just because these women are all white and middle class doesn't mean that they're not drug users. I'll check that out first thing."

Jacob looked doubtful, but he readily agreed to Rachel's plan. Until he had more information, it would be foolish to rule out any avenue. He sat back and once again became absorbed in his files.

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It was early the next morning before they reached the hospital in Crawford. Jacob had wanted to head there as soon as they hit town. Rachel, however, had insisted that they check into a hotel and get a few hours rest. As she pointed out, the hospital administrator and the doctor who were responsible for their summons weren't expecting them until the next morning. Jacob agreed reluctantly, while he was eager to dive into the problem, he recognized that Rachel needed her sleepp.

On the way to the hospital, Jacob briefed Rachel on the people they would be meeting. "Our immediate appointment is with Dr. Thomson, the hospital administrator. It's a nuisance, but he insists on meeting with us. I've asked that Dr. Terry join us in that meeting. He's the pediatrician who's treating the infants with NPF. He's the one who insisted the hospital ask for my help."

Rachel scrunched up her nose. "Pediatrician? I thought it was an obstetrician who called."

"No." Jacob shook his head, flipping through the files. "Dr. Hadfield was the one who delivered the infants, but it was it was the pediatrician who detected the genetic defect." He frowned over the files. "It's a bit strange, considering what happened, but there's no mention of any genetic counseling in her report." He shrugged, "I'll have to talk to her also, dig into her files a little deeper."

They ran into the obstetrician immediately. They had barely entered the hospital when a tall woman, dressed in scrubs, her brown hair pulled up in an untidy knot on the top of her head approached them. Rachel, as her training dictated, stepped in front of Hood, blocking direct access.

"May I help you?"

The woman ran a glance over Rachel and, obviously dismissing her as of no importance, held out her hand to Jacob.

"Dr. Hood? I'm Dr. Lydia Hadfield. I'm the obstetrician who delivered the infants that developed NPF. I'm happy to meet you. When they told me you were coming, I looked up your work. Your contributions to genetic research are impressive."

"Ah, thank you..." Jacob took the woman's outstretched hand. "Please call me Jacob. I've read your report on each of the pregnancies, they were very through. At some point, would you mind going over your notes, your full files with me?"

"Not at all, Jacob." The woman smiled complacently. "And please call me Lydia. Would you care to join me for coffee? We could…"

Jacob began to answer, but Rachel cut in quickly. "Actually, _we_ need to check in with Dr. Thomson and Dr. Terry. We'll catch up with you later."

Hadfield's mouth thinned at the mention of Dr. Terry. She once again addressed Jacob as if Rachel hadn't spoken. "Yes, Dr. Terry. I'm afraid that you've been called out unnecessarily. Terry over-reacted. As you'll see when we go over my notes, these were textbook pregnancies. These cases of NPF are unfortunate but hardly something that calls for the Special Science Advisor for the FBI."

Jacob eyes widened a bit. He wasn't surprised at Rachel's reaction. He knew that the woman's rudeness in not acknowledging her had put her back up. He was surprised at Dr. Hadfield's 'reaction. That she didn't seem to realize the rareness of the protein deficiency. He would have thought an obstetrician would be more knowledgeable regarding genetics.

"I'm sorry Lydia, but Rachel's right, the hospital administrator and Dr. Terry are expecting us. Plus there are a few lines of inquiry I'd like to get started immediately. But I do need to talk to you, review your files. If you'll be in the hospital for a while, perhaps I can have you paged once I've finished."

Hadfield smiled at him. "Actually, I'll be here for most of the day. I have a couple of patients in active labor. The nurses will find me for you. And I'll have my office messenger over the files."

With a nod, Jacob took his leave of the woman, Rachel walking stiffly by his side. As they approached the elevators Jacob looked down at her, his amusement evident in his face. "So, what do you think of Dr. Hadfield?"

"I don't think much of her manners. I may not be a hot shot biophysicist, but I'm not invisible." Rachel frowned, "I wonder what her problem is with Dr. Terry. She sure seemed ticked off at the mention of his name."

"She might think his calling us in is a criticism of her management of the pregnancies." Jacob shrugged. "He's the pediatrician for all of the infants; he's the one who identified the genetic defect, not her."

Dr. Terry turned out to be a young sandy-haired man. He had welcomed both of them warmly and got them out of the hospital admin's office gracefully when it became obvious that Thomson's only concern was if the hospital or its doctors could be held liable for the outbreak of NPF. Terry's kindness and concern for his patients was evident; Rachel liked him immediately.

Terry took them to the small conference room on the maternity floor that he had turned into an office for them. He provided Hood with the latest test results from the three surviving infants. "As you can see, all of them are responding well to the warfarin. I'm not sure how they'll fare long-term, but for now the drug is controlling the disease."

Jacob grunted in agreement as he reviewed the test results. "What alerted you to the NPF in the first place? I see that you tested for that immediately, what made you suspect the protein deficiency?"

Dr. Terry's face tightened. "It was the death of the first infant. His autopsy showed he died of a stroke."

"A stroke?" Rachel interrupted. "How could a baby have a stroke?"

Terry sighed. "The main problem with protein S deficiency is that your blood clots too easily. The first infant developed a blood clot in his brain, it triggered a stroke. An autopsy showed the deficiency. When the other infants began showing symptoms, I had them tested immediately. They all have the same deficiency."

"Which is being kept in check with medication." Hadfield had tracked them down and was leaning against the doorframe. "While it is uncommon for this defect to manifest itself in these infants, it's hardly a crime, a case for the FBI." She smiled at Jacob. "I'm afraid that you've been called out over a tempest in a teapot."

Jacob eyed the woman thoughtfully. "Well, Lydia, the cases I investigate don't always fall under the umbrella of criminal activities. Any scientific anomaly is enough to bring me into a case. And you have to admit; statistically speaking these cases of protein S deficiency are an anomaly."

The woman shrugged but before she could continue, Terry spoke up. "Dr. Hood, why don't you and Agent Young come with me to the NICU? I'm sure you'll want to check up on the babies yourself."

Jacob nodded his agreement but Rachel's brow creased. "NICU? What…"

She was interrupted by Hadfield heaving a large sigh and rolling her eyes. "It stands for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. It's where we keep sick newborns."

Terry's eyes widened at the angry flush on Rachel's face. He hurried into speech. "I understand your confusion. Technically these babies aren't newborns but we don't really have the room or the need for a separate nursery for sick infants. It was just easier for them and their parents to isolate them in the NICU."

The foursome made their way to the NICU: Jacob, hands in pockets lost in thought as he contemplated the problem before him; Terry, worriedly glancing from Rachel to Hadfield; Rachel, shooting glares at Hadfield; and Hadfield, who was totally oblivious to the anger she had provoked in Agent Young.

Rachel forgot her annoyance when she caught sight of the babies in the NICU; they were covered in bruises. "Geez, Hood," she murmured. "What happened to them? They look like they were abused."

Hood shook his head. "It's a symptom of NPF. Those bruises are caused by blood clots."

"We didn't realize the significance in time to save the first baby," Terry put in, "but when the others started showing signs of bruising we tested them for the deficiency."

"But now that they've been properly diagnosed, they're fine." Hadfield said. "I honestly don't see why…"

"Fine my ass," snapped a woman with short red hair who had entered the NICU behind them. "My daughter is far from _fine_. She's going to have to be on medication for her entire life, is at risk for thrombosis, stoke, and may never be able to have children. I don't call that _fine."_

'_Way to tell her off.'_ Rachel smirked at the look of discomfort on Hadfield' face.

"Uh, Barbara, I didn't mean to offend you. I meant your daughter is fine in the sense that her condition is no longer life-threatening. What are you doing here?"

Terry cut off the angry retort that was forming on the newcomer's lips. "Barbara, I'd like you to meet Dr. Hood and Agent Young, they're from the FBI. Dr. Hood is here to find out how this genetic mutation happened." He turned to Hood and pointed to one of the bassinets. "This is Barbara Danvers; she's the mother of this little girl."

The woman reached for her daughter and gently unsnapped the leads connecting her to the monitor. Careful not to tangle the IV line, she lifted her child from the bassinette. She turned to Hood. "I don't understand? Why is the FBI interested in my daughter? Do you think you can help her?"

Jacob stared at the woman for a heartbeat. His lips twitched as he searched for the right words. Rachel felt a small pang. Until he had answers, until he had solved the problem, she knew how difficult Hood found it to face the families of those involved in their cases.

"My name is Jacob Hood, and I'm the Special Science Advisor for the FBI." He nodded toward Rachel, "And this is my colleague, Speical Agent Young. I get involved in cases where there may be an abuse of science. It's statistically unlikely that what happened to your daughter and the other infants was a natural occurrence. Now, I won't be able to help, cure, your daughter, but I will try to find out why it happened and to prevent it from happening again."

"Happen again?" Barbara looked perplexed. "I thought Sarah and the others had a genetic defect; that it was just the luck of draw." She turned to Hadfield. "That's what you told us."

"That's my professional judgment." Hadfield replied. "What happened here is an unfortunate occurrence, nothing more, nothing less." She raised an eyebrow at Jacob. "I know Dr. Hood feels that this is statistically unlikely, but this condition isn't that well documented. There's nothing in your pregnancy or health history that would make this anything other an act of God."

"Well, let's just say I'm here to make sure that god didn't have any help," Jacob replied. He turned to Barbara. "I know that this is difficult for you, but are you up to answering a few questions? The sooner I can get started the sooner I can find some answers."

Before she could reply the baby in her arms began to whimper; her attention was immediately diverted. "I'm sorry," she murmured. "I'm here to feed Sarah. I need to concentrate on her right now; your questions will have to wait."

Holding her baby in one arm, Barbara wheeled the IV stand over to one of two rocking chairs in the corner of the NICU. She settled herself carefully and began unfastening her shirt.

Rachel gaped in surprise as she realized that the woman would be breastfeeding her baby. She shot a quick look at Hood. _Anything_ remotely connected to sex seemed to embarrass him; she wondered how he would react to this. To her surprise, he didn't bat an eye.

Jacob was about to suggest to the woman that they give her some privacy when a woman with curly chestnut hair rushed into the room. "Hi, Barbie how's Sarah today? " Her gaze ran over the others in the room. "Hey Chuck." Her voice turned frosty. "Dr. Hadfield."

The newcomer kept up a line of chatter as she, in turn, carefully scooped up a baby from its bassinette. "I'm glad I was able to get here before Henry got fussy. Chuck, could you do me a favor? Could you wheel Abby's bassinette over here for me? I promised Claudia I'd provide lunch for her today."

Within a few minutes, the two women were settled, babies at their breasts. The newcomer, once she had assured herself that her son was feeding properly looked over at Jacob and Rachel. "So, who the hell are you two?"

Terry burst out laughing. "Direct as always Tracey. This is Dr. Hood, he's the one from the FBI I told you about. And this is his colleague, Agent Young." He turned to Jacob and Rachel. "This is Tracey Martel."

The woman looked at Jacob through narrowed eyes. "So you're the genius doctor who's going to figure out what happened here?"

"I don't know about the genius part, but yes, I do hope to discover what happened to your children. " Jacob smiled at the woman. "When you're done feeding your son, I'd like to ask you some questions, if you don't mind."

"I'd be glad to answer your questions, but they'll have to wait until tonight. I have to get back to work as soon as I'm done feeding Abby and Henry. I have a budget meeting with the mayor that can't be put off."

"Actually, I have to get back to work too." Barbara looked up apologetically. "Things will get backed up at the pharmacy if I'm away to long."

The two women exchanged glances. "Don't misunderstand, we want answers as much as anyone, but we're all trying to get our lives back to normal. And that means getting back to work."

"I understand," Jacob reassured them. "I was hoping to do an environmental scan as well as question you. When do you think we can arrange that?"

"You can look around my place right now, "Tracey offered. She shrugged at Jacob and Rachel's looks of surprise. "My husband, David, is a landscape gardener. Since it's raining, he'll be at home. He can show you around the place, answer your questions."

"You can go to my place now too," Barbara said. "My husband Jimmy is a cop. He's on the late shift so, he'll be home now."

"Let's see," Tracey mused. "Will can show you around his and Claudia's place. He's a mechanic, but he works out of their garage." Her face clouded over. "I guess you'll want to talk to, see Jill and Matt? Their son is the one who died." She sighed. "Matt's a contractor, so with the rain, he should be at home like David.

Jacob thanked the women for their information and as their attention was claimed by the babies he and the others left the room. Hadfield was paged and she took her leave of Jacob and Terry. She once again acted as if Rachel was non-existent.

Rachel, the dislike evident on her face, watched the woman stride down the hall. "What's up with her and the Martel woman?"

Terry answered carefully. "Tracey seems to feel that Dr. Hadfield wasn't as…helpful as she could have been when during and after their pregnancies. " He turned to Jacob. "So what now? Is there anything you need from me? That you'd like me to do for you?"

Jacob looked at the man thoughtfully. "No, the office you arranged for us will do nicely. Rachel and I will be out and about for most of the day. Now, it you'll excuse us, we'll be on our way."

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It was evening before Jacob and Rachel returned to the hospital. They had spent the day investigating the small town. Jacob took soil and water samples from each of the four properties they visited as well as the workplaces of the four women. While the local authorities had ruled out environmental hazards, He was determined to double-check everything. He had asked Rachel to arrange for a courier to take the samples to the Portland FBI field office for testing. At her look of surprise, he explained that he wanted to assure himself that there wasn't a chance of a local cover-up.

Rachel had conducted her own lines of inquiry. The women's professions hadn't been listed in any of the paperwork the Bureau had provided; she was intrigued to discover that not only was Barbara Danvers a pharmacist, but that Jill Siddons was a dentist. As she explained to Hood that meant that at least two of what she persisted in calling suspects had easy access to drugs.

She had reached out to her contacts in the Bureau to have complete criminal background checks run on each of the women and their husbands. She also requested that the Oregon State Department of Pharmacies check to see if they had been any reports of drug irregularities at Barbara Danvers' pharmacy or in the practice where Jill Siddons worked.

Jacob had been distressed by her last line of inquiry. Rachel had arranged a meeting with the local chief of police. At the meeting she asked him if there were "unofficial" reports on any of the couples involved. Unfiled complaints regarding drug or alcohol use? Maybe a warning rather than a DUI? Any spousal abuse complaints that hadn't made it into the system? Any rumors about the four couples that the locals may have been turning a blind eye to?

Jacob had opened his mouth to protest but he shut it when Rachel had raised an eyebrow at him. Over a late lunch, Rachel had explained her rationale to him. She had been surprised to find that all of the women involved were prominent in the small community. Aside from the pharmacist and the dentist, Tracey Martel was the town library director and Claudia Hogan was a lawyer and a budding politician.

"People like that, the local cops would try to cover up any scandals, handle things discreetly. They wouldn't want to cause any embarrassment."

Jacob nodded in understanding, but he wasn't surprised by the reception they received when they returned to the hospital. They had arranged to meet all four couples in the lounge outside the NICU. As they walked down the hallway an angry Tracey Martel and Jimmy Danvers confronted them.

"You god-damned bitch." Jimmy Danvers spat out. "How dare you come into my station and ask those questions about me? About all of us? Who in the hell do you think you are? If you weren't a woman, I beat the crap out of you. But," he pulled himself up to his full height. "I don't hit women, especially my wife."

"Damn straight." Tracey glared at Rachel. "We should sue you. How dare you go around implying that we're a bunch of alcoholic drug users? As if it's _our_ fault our babies are sick?"

Rachel held up her hands defensively. "I'm sorry. I was only doing my job. You have to understand, we have to find out _everything_ there is to know about you. Even if they're things you'd rather we not know."

Jacob hurried into speech. "I am truly sorry that we've distressed you; Mrs. Martel, Officer Danvers. But Rachel is correct; we do need to find out as much as we can about your backgrounds. Where you've been, what you've done. It could be crucial to determining what caused the genetic mutation that's affecting your children.

Jimmy slumped against the wall. "You're right. It's been hard and now…" He sighed. "It's not easy to be on the other side, being the one questioned."

Rachel nodded in understanding. Tracey continued to glare. "I still say we should sue."

"You don't have a case; she's asking those questions as part of a government investigation, not because she's nosy." A woman with her strawberry blonde hair pulled back in a chignon stood in the doorway to the lounge. "I'm Claudia Hogan. Could we get this started?"

Rachel preceded Hood into the room, glancing around and sizing up the occupants. Rachel was struck immediately by the difference in the way the couples were dressed. All of the women, with the exception of Jill Siddons, were dressed up. While Tracey and Barbara were not dressed as formally as Claudia in a suit and heels, they were dressed in what she would call a professional manner. And Jill was wearing scrubs, as you would expect of a medical professional just coming off a shift.

The men, on the other hand, were dressed in jeans and work shirts. They were lean and well-muscled but Rachel suspected that they never saw the inside of a gym. They were all obviously men who were used to physical labor, working with their hands.

One other difference also struck Rachel. Jill and Matt Siddons, the parents of the child who died, sat separately from the others, their arms wrapped around each other.

Rachel began to introduce herself and Hood to Claudia and Jill, the only ones they had not yet met. But when she turned to Hood, he was staring at the women with a look of surprise on his face.

"You all have red hair," he said abruptly.

Rachel and the others looked at him blankly.

"It's not that common." Jacob explained. "Statistically speaking, less than 6% of the population has red hair. Yet all four of you are redheads. In a town this size the odds of the four of you being having the same hair color are large. It's an anomaly, just like your children all having the same protein deficiency."

The four women exchanged glances and shrugged. "It runs in the family, I guess." Tracey said.

"You're related?" Jacob mentally reviewed the information he had be given. "There's nothing in the files about that."

"We're not closely related." Claudia replied. "We all have great-grandparents in common; I guess that makes us some kind of cousins." She looked at Hood sharply. "Does it matter? Does it have something to do with what happened to our babies?"

"I knew it!" Tracey exclaimed. "I told that arrogant bitch Hadfield that it might have something to do with our family history, but she said it couldn't since no one else had the deficiency. " The four couples looked at Hood expectantly.

"I'm not sure." Jacob said honestly. "It may be important, it may not. But I am surprised that neither Dr. Terry nor Dr. Hadfield thought to mention it to me."

"Chuck, Dr. Terry, may not know." Tracey replied. "He's not from around here. But Hadfield knows. I told her myself, asked if this mutation might be some kind of recessive gene or something." She flushed angrily at the memory. "She pretty much told me that I should stop trying to use Google to second guess a medical professional."

"Now Trace," Jill spoke softly, never moving from her husband's arms. "You know you just have a down on Dr. Hadfield." She elaborated, seeing Jacob and Rachel's look of inquiry. "Trace thought Dr. Hadfield didn't do enough to monitor our pregnancies, seeing as she said that she considered us all high-risk."

"High risk? Why would that be?" Jacob frowned in thought as he once again mentally reviewed what information he had been given. "I haven't had a chance to review Dr. Hadfield's full files, but according to her report, you're all perfectly healthy, the pregnancies were uneventful."

"We're old." Claudia said flatly. At Jacob and Rachel's looks of surprise, she elaborated. "We're all in our mid-30's. Jill is the youngest, 33 and I'm the oldest at 36." She shrugged. "The chances of things going wrong are greater at our age."

"Plus, in the past year, we've all had at least one miscarriage," Jill continued. Her eyes filled with tears. "I had two."

"You've all had miscarriages?" Jacob's eyes narrowed. "But none of you are protein S deficient? Are you sure? How through were the tests?"

"I know what you're thinking," Tracey answered. "But we've all had our blood tested. Like I said, none of us," she waved her hand to indicate not only the women but their husbands "have the deficiency."

"What do you mean," Rachel interrupted, "you know what he's thinking?"

Tracey looked at Rachel sadly. "The miscarriages. They're a symptom. Women with protein S deficiency have a hard time carrying a baby to term."

Rachel nodded slowly, remembering what Barbara had said earlier. '_That her daughter might never be able to have children.'_

"Blood tests are all well and good," Jacob continued, "but didn't either Dr. Terry or Dr. Hadfield run a DNA panel on all of you?" He cocked his head. "If Dr. Hadfield considered your pregnancies high risk, I'm surprised that she didn't insist on a DNA panel when you miscarried, before you conceived again. Do some genetic counseling."

The women looked at each other and silently appointed Tracey their spokesman. "We all asked her about that, right after our miscarriages. But she said it wasn't needed. That we just needed to be closely monitored. We all had weekly visits with her, starting after our miscarriages until we got pregnant again."

Tracey blushed. "She was very through with her monitoring. Weekly blood tests, special nutritional counseling. She even gave us schedules as to when to have sex so as to maximize the chances of a successful conception and full-term pregnancy. But once we got pregnant, poof; all the extra attention was gone. She treated us like normal patients, not high risk. I always thought she should have been more concerned about the progress of our pregnancies. Maybe if she had…." She trailed off unhappily.

"These miscarriages? Were they the first any of you had? Have you had other, successful pregnancies?" Jacob spoke slowly, an idea forming in his mind.

Tracey shook her head. "No, none of us even thought of trying to have a baby until about 2 years ago. Even without Dr. Hadfield fancy sex schedule, none of us had any trouble getting pregnant." Her face fell. "Just staying pregnant."

Jacob sat lost in thought. He really needed to get his hands on Hadfield full records. He couldn't believe that no DNA tests had been done. After all, a miscarriage in a perfectly healthy woman might be an indication of a genetic abnormality in the fetus.

Coming to a decision Jacob began to rummage in his portable lab kit. He enlisted Jill Siddons' help in swabbing the cheeks of the women and their husbands. He asked Rachel to make two phone calls. One was to the field office in Portland to request another courier. He wanted the Bureau to run his tests. The other was to Hadfield. He needed her full files on each of the women, and he needed them now.


	2. Chapter 2

Rachel sat in the corner of the conference room watching Hood peruse the files Hadfield had provided. Rachel had been relieved that a phone call to the woman wasn't needed. They discovered when they reached their small office, that, as promised, the files had already been delivered to the hospital. She had not been looking forward to another exposure to Hadfield's rudeness.

Her own lines of inquiry had provided no leads at all. According to the Bureau, none of the people involved had even a hint of a criminal record; not even a sealed juvenile record. She had finally heard from the Department of Pharmacies. They had rather huffily informed her that there had never been a problem at either the pharmacy or the practice. They, like the police chief, had been slightly offended at Rachel's questions. Rachel hoped that Hood was finding some answers, some connections in the files.

Feeling stiff from sitting for so long, Rachel got up and began moving about the room. After poking at the files for a few minutes she decided that if she didn't get out of the conference room for a few minutes, she would go stir crazy.

"I'm going out to stretch my legs." Rachel made sure that she had Hood's attention. "Do not, under any circumstances, leave this room until I get back."

Jacob nodded absently and returned to his work.

Rachel wandered down the hallway stopping outside the regular nursery widow to check out the babies. She was surprised when the nurse, after registering her presence, frantically began waving her toward the door. Rachel went down the hallway and poked her head into the nursery.

"Uh, yeah, do you need something?"

The nurse sighed in relief. "Yeah. You're Agent Young, right? Here about the sick babies? Look, could I ask a big favor? We had quite a few born today and I've been run ragged. The other nurse on this shift left sick and the next shift isn't due yet. I desperately need to pee. Could you _please_ just stand in here until I get back? It won't be a minute."

Rachel almost laughed at the frantic expression on the nurse's face. But remembering some long nights on surveillance during a previous detail she couldn't help but sympathize.

"Ok, but what if one of them starts crying or something?"

"They've all been fed, burped, and changed in the last hour. If any of them fusses, just pick 'em up and rock 'em." The nurse hurried past Rachel down the hall.

Rachel's amusement at the woman's predicament faded as she surveyed the dimly lit nursery filled with sleeping babies. Her worst fears were realized when one of them began to whimper quietly. She stared down uneasily at the swaddled baby.

Reaching out, she jiggled the bassinette. "Shh," she whispered. "You don't want to wake up anyone else."

This did nothing to quiet the baby whose whimpers got a bit louder. Alarmed, Rachel picked it up and instinctively began swaying back and forth. She was pleased when the baby opened its eyes, yawned at her, and stopped whimpering. _'Ok, I can do this, nothing to it.'_

Spying a rocking chair partially concealed by a screen, she decided she might as well be comfortable while waiting for the nurse to return. Absorbed as she was in rocking the now quiet baby, Rachel snapped to attention when she heard the door open.

"Shar, where are you?" whispered the newcomer.

Before she could react, there was a high-pitched giggle. "She's probably down at the NICU trying to catch the eye of that gorgeous doctor the FBI sent."

Rachel began to grin; this must be the next shift of nurses coming on duty. She decided to stay put for a second or two longer. _'This is might be interesting.'_ What she heard next wiped the grin off of her face.

Second voice continued, "Not that's she gonna have much luck. According to my cousin, his girlfriend is with him. "

First voice asked with a hint of impatience, "What are you talking about Lori? What FBI doctor?"

Lori heaved a melodramatic sigh. "Honestly, Marcie, don't you pay attention to _anything_? It's been all over the hospital that Dr. Terry called in the FBI about those sick babies. Well, he got here last night."

"Last night?" challenged Marcie. "Then you haven't seen him? So, how do you know he's good looking? And that he has a girlfriend?"

"You know my cousin, Wendy? The one who's a maid at the hotel? She saw 'em both this morning and according to her he's drop-dead gorgeous. And," Lori giggled. "Wendy said that they might have gotten two rooms, but they got rooms with a connecting door. This morning when she went in to clean, the door was wide open, and one bed was a wreck and the other one looked like it hadn't been slept in."

Rachel gritted her teeth. _'Big freaking deal; I sleep like the dead and Hood tosses and turns all night long.'_ She had just decided that perhaps it was time to make herself known when a voice she immediately recognized as belonging to Hadfield cut across the nursery.

Hadfield had entered the storeroom adjoining the nursery shortly after Rachel had begun tending to the crying baby. She was unaware of Rachel's presence but she had overheard the nurses' conversation and it angered her.

"That is totally ludicrous. The woman accompanying Dr. Hood is merely his personal assistant. Dr. Hood happens to be one of this country's leading geneticists, as well as a world class biophysicist."

She sniffed loudly. "A man of his caliber would hardly carry on an affair with an empty-headed blonde. It's probably a stretch of her intellectual capacity to manage his schedule and fetch his coffee. If I hear of either of you repeating this scurrilous gossip, I'll have you suspended. Do I make myself clear?"

Rachel raised her eyebrows. _'Interesting.' _Hearing Hadfield stomp out, Rachel stood carefully and came around the screen. "So, what put a bug up her ass?"

The two nurses gaped at her in surprise. "Who, who are you?" asked the one Rachel identified as Lori.

"I," she replied with an arch to her eyebrow, "am _Special Agent_ Young. I'm Dr. Hood's FBI _colleague_."

The two nurses looked at her in horror, their faces red with embarrassment. "Oh, god, oh, we're so sorry…"

Rachel cut them off. "Yeah, but again, what put a bug up Hadfield's ass?"

The nurse who had asked Rachel to tend the infants came rushing back in. "Oh shit, I saw Dr. Hadfield…" She broke off when she saw the two nurses. Her face lit up in relief. "Thank god you two got here." She turned to Rachel. "If Dr. Hadfield had found out I left the nursery she would have had …."

The nurse broke off uncertainly, her gaze shifting from Rachel to the two nurses. Her friends looked embarrassed and Agent Young amused. "Oh shit, did Dr. Hadfield say something about me not being here, about Agent Young being in here?"

"Actually," Rachel said, "that didn't come up." She looked at the two newcomers expectantly. "She seemed rather outraged by some gossip that implied that Dr. Hood and I are having an affair."

The two nurses glared at the one called Lori. She squirmed uncomfortably. "Look, I'm sorry, Miss, I mean, Agent Young. I didn't mean anything by it; it's just my cousin…" Her voice trailed off.

"Apology accepted." Rachel cocked her head. "But I was serious, what put the bug up her ass? Her reaction was a little extreme, even if she is interested in him herself. Honestly, she sounded outraged by the very idea that Dr. Hood would be sleeping with me."

The three nurses looked at each other uncomfortably. Lori began, "Well, I hate to gossip, but…" Her companions rolled their eyes and snorted.

Rachel bit back a smile. "Think of it as helping a federal agent in her inquires, not as gossip."

"It's not really gossip," Lori defended herself. She looked at her two friends. "Admit it; you all know how she is." She looked back at Rachel. "She thinks that if a person doesn't have a bunch of fancy degrees and a fancy job they must be stupid."

Sharon agreed. "She treats the RNs as if they're second class citizens and the LPNs as if they're idiots." She rolled her eyes. "The head nurse on this floor has a MS in nursing and Dr. Hadfield once asked her why she was wasting her potential being a nurse, why she didn't go to med school."

"It's more than that." Marcie spoke up. She turned to the others. "Remember that peds intern two years ago? She practically ran her out of the hospital. She was great, a good doctor and all the parents liked her. So did Dr. Hadfield until she found out the woman's husband was a carpenter."

"Not a carpenter, carpenter." Lori put in. "More like a woodcarver, he made furniture and stuff. She brought in pictures once of a cradle he made. It was beautiful."

"Yeah," nodded Marcie. "But Dr. Hadfield had the nerve to ask her why someone of her intelligence would marry so far beneath her. And after that, she gave the woman as hard a time as possible. The intern finally quit."

Marcie shrugged. "Plus, she's always lecturing the new interns, residents, about the dangers of getting involved with _unsuitable_ people. She has a real thing about people getting involved with people who are their _economic and_ _intellectual inferiors_."

Rachel's mouth dropped open. "You mean to say that she was incensed by the idea of Dr. Hood sleeping with me because it would be a, a, misalliance?"

The nurses exchanged glances and shrugged. "She's got weird ideas about stuff like that."

The baby Rachel was holding began to whimper. With a smile, she handed it over to one of the nurses. "Well, that explains why Hadfield ignores me; guess she doesn't consider me worthy of her attention."

Rachel started down the hallway, shaking her head at what she had heard from the nurses. She was debating whether or not to share with Hood the conclusions the maid had drawn from the state of their rooms when she became aware of voices ahead of her.

Rounding the corner she saw Hood standing outside of their office talking to Hadfield. He was holding out some papers for her to read and from the expression on his face he wasn't happy with her reply. Rachel's first reaction was one of irritation. _'Damn it, I told him to stay put. I wasn't gone that long.'_ Her second reaction was one of amusement. _'Oh, yeah, that would be funny.'_

Reaching up, Rachel pulled the elastic from around her ponytail. She ran her fingers through her hair so that it was hanging loose around her face. She tilted her head for a moment considering. She smiled. _'Might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb.'_ Unbuttoning two more buttons on her shirt, she tugged her camisole down, revealing far more cleavage than she would normally show. Satisfied with her appearance, she quietly walked up to where Hood was standing with Hadfield.

Ignoring the woman, Rachel slipped her arm around Hood's, resting her other hand on his shoulder. She leaned into him slightly. She deliberately pitched her voice lower, sexier, "What are you doing out here? You _know_ I told you to stay in the office."

Jacob brows rose at Rachel's touch, her tone of voice and most definitely at her appearance. She usually went out of her way to insure that others understood that their relationship was strictly professional; yet here she was acting flirtatious in front of Hadfield.

Hadfield, misinterpreting Jacob's look of surprise, snapped at Rachel. "I hardly think it's your job to tell Dr. Hood what he may and may not do."

Smiling sweetly, Rachel leaned even more into Hood's side. "But it is," she purred. "I'm his own, _personal _FBI bodyguard. He knows he's supposed to do _exactly _what I say, at all times."

Jacob's eyes widened. For some reason Rachel had decided that this behavior would annoy Hadfield. It was her way of paying the woman back for her ignoring her. He decided his best course was to let Rachel play out whatever game she was playing.

"Bodyguard?" Hadfield looked at Rachel with distain, "You hardly look as if you're qualified to protect anyone."

Jacob held his breath waiting for the explosion. He knew how seriously Rachel took her duty to see to his safety and that she resented any slurs about her ability to do so. To his further surprise, Rachel giggled.

"Oh, no, I'm _very _well qualified to guard _this_ body." Rachel replied coyly. She snuggled closer to Hood, wrapping an arm around his waist. "And I take my duties very seriously. But with Jacob, it's more pleasure than duty."

Jacob's mouth dropped open at the innuendo in Rachel's words, actions. He had a feeling that his face was slowly turning red.

"Ummhmm," she continued. "He follows directions _so_ well." She winked at Hadfield. "I like that in a man, don't you?" She looked up at Hood with a mock frown. "Most of the time that is. Honestly, I wasn't gone that long baby; you were supposed to stay in the office."

Jacob cleared his throat. "Actually, uh, sweetie, I, uh, was looking for you."

"You missed me." Rachel voice was a caress. "Still, you know when I say stay, you stay." She smiled at Hood seductively. "_Bad boy_."

"Dr. Hood is one of the leading scientists in the country." Hadfield fumed. "How dare you think you can talk to him, treat him like a dog." She added nastily, "I'm surprised you didn't try to handcuff him to the desk."

Rachel widened her eyes. "Oh, I've _never _handcuffed him to a desk," she paused for a beat, "to the bed once, yeah, but…"

Rachel grinned at the small choking sound Hood made. Sneaking a peek at his face, she could see that his cheeks were bright red. Much more satisfying was the horrified look on Hadfield face. It had taken awhile, but the woman finally made the connection she had intended.

Looking from the smug look on Rachel's face to the furious one on Hadfield's, Jacob decided that things had rapidly gotten out of hand. Since Rachel was determinedly hanging onto him, he tugged her in the direction of the open office door.

"Uh, Rachel, I really do need to talk to you," he murmured. "If you'll excuse us Dr. Hadfield?"

"Yes, excuse us Dr. Hadfield, I think we'd like some _privacy_ here." Rachel pushed Hood into the office and gently closed the door.

Once the door was closed, Rachel stepped away from Hood. They looked at each other, each silently daring the other to speak first. Rachel's face was alight with amusement; Jacob's expression veered between amused and appalled. Appalled won out.

"Handcuffs? Really? I can't believe you said that. What in the world were you thinking?"

"Why don't you tell me, _sweetie_?"

Jacob raised his eyebrows. "I was merely trying to add a touch of verisimilitude to your performance." He tilted his head and bit his lip. "It's going to be all over the hospital that we're, uh, well, you know. I mean really, what got into you?"

"Hadfield pissed me off, so I decided to return the favor." She shrugged. "Besides, they're already gossiping about us."

"I don't understand."

Rachel chewed on her lip considering how much to tell Hood. _'Hell, he's a big boy; surely he realizes that people gossip about us, wonder if we're sleeping together.'_

"I was in the nursery, the regular one. Hadfield was in the storeroom but she didn't see me and I didn't see her. But we both heard some nurses talking. About us. One of the nurses has a cousin who works in our hotel. She claimed that we had two rooms but only used one bed."

"But that, that's…" Jacob looked stunned.

"Yeah, well Hadfield went ballistic. Told them that I was nothing more than your PA and that it would be unthinkable for you to be involved with someone like me. That I was too stupid to interest you." Rachel grinned. "Pissed me off. So when I saw her with you, I decided to play with her head a little."

Jacob's jaw dropped. He spoke slowly. "It pissed you off that Dr. Hadfield thought we _weren't_ involved?"

"No." Rachel frowned. "But a girl has her pride. Honestly, that bitch thinks I'm not good enough for you 'cause I'm some kind of dumb blonde and you're a freaking genius? Really?"

"Never occurred to you to mention that you graduated cum laude from a top ranked law school?"

"Kind of hard to prove. I don't generally carry my diploma with me." She tugged her camisole up and re-buttoned her shirt. "I decided to work with the assets at hand so to speak. According to the nurses, she doesn't have any use for people who become involved with their intellectual inferiors. So, like I said, when I saw her with you…."

Belatedly Rachel registered the expression on Hood's face. He was looking at her oddly. She had been so intent on pissing off Hadfield she hadn't given a thought to how he would react.

It had been almost three years since his wife died and Rachel felt, from the bits he had told her, that he was still grieving. She sometimes wondered if that was why he looked uncomfortable when women flirted with him, whenever the subject of sex came up. She had been encouraged when, a few months ago, she had overhead him on the phone arranging to get together with Professor Yang. But he had never followed up on that phone call.

'_Great going Rachel – he's still isn't ready to go on a date with an old friend and you hang all over him and imply that the two of you are having kinky sex.'_

Rachel cleared her throat. "Look, I'm sorry, it was juvenile of me and I'm sorry that I embarrassed you."

"It's ok, it wasn't that embarrassing." His lips twitched. "Until the handcuffs. Sometimes Rachel, I really do wonder about you."

He then turned serious. "But I meant it when I said that I needed to talk to you. I'm not happy with the files Dr. Hadfield gave me."

"Why, what's up? Is there something missing?"

"Not exactly." Hood pursed his lips. "They're very through. It's just that things I expected to find aren't there."

"Like what? What were you expecting to find?"

"Little things. Like temperature charts."

Rachel shrugged. "Ok, I've never been pregnant, but my Ob/Gyn never takes my temp at my annual check-up. Why would you expect to find temperature charts?"

"The sex schedules Dr. Hadfield gave them. According to Tracey Martel, they were to maximize the chances of a successful conception."

Understanding dawned on Rachel's face. "Of course. If she wasn't charting their temperatures, what makes those days better than others. What else is bothering you?"

"The lack of any DNA testing." Hood exhaled. "Dr. Hadfield is an intelligent woman, and from these files I'd say she's an extremely through doctor. Surely if she had four patients with a shared genetic heritage miscarry, she would have had a DNA panel run on them."

Rachel looked at Hood quizzically, shaking her head.

"Look, have you ever heard the old wives tale, that when a woman miscarries that it means there was something wrong with the fetus?"

When Rachel nodded, he continued. "Well, it's not that much of an old wives tale. Studies have shown that in a high percentage of spontaneous abortions, there is some genetic abnormality. I would have expected Dr. Hadfield to have known that and to have advised her patients to have the tests done."

Jacob rubbed his hands over his face. "I also find it hard to believe that no one ran a DNA panel on those infants. I was asking Dr. Hadfield about that just now." He grinned at Rachel, "before you interrupted us. She told me that in her opinion it wasn't necessary."

"Wait," objected Rachel. "They must have, how else did they know the babies had the protein deficiency?"

"Blood tests. When the autopsy showed the first infant died of a stroke, they suspected a clotting disorder. Dr. Terry wanted to run DNA panels, but Dr. Hadfield convinced him and the others that the blood tests were faster, as reliable, and much cheaper."

"What do you want to do?"

"Get DNA samples from the infants. The courier hasn't arrived yet, so we have time to get them ready."

The next hour was busy. Jacob not only took DNA samples from the infants, but he also spent a considerable amount of time on the phone and doing some research with his laptop. Uncharacteristically, he didn't share his research results with Rachel.

Jacob didn't like to admit it, but he was becoming suspicious of Hadfield' attitude about the case. He was reluctant to share his findings with Rachel. He knew she didn't like the woman and was afraid that this would color her perceptions. Still, Rachel was a shrewd judge of character and he wanted to get her reading on the woman.

Even if it meant bringing up that embarrassing incident in the hallway. He looked over to where Rachel was filling out the paperwork for the courier.

"Rachel," he began hesitantly. "Dr. Hadfield, why do you think she was so sure you were unintelligent? What was the basis for her assumption? She hadn't exchanged two words with you. You're a FBI agent for heaven's sake. Even she must realize that position isn't easily obtained."

She looked up from her paperwork. "Hood, just because she's a woman, doesn't mean that she has any respect for other women." Rachel rolled her eyes. "She's one in a long line that takes one look at my hair, my face and my body and dismisses me as nothing more than an empty headed doll.

Then, the nurses told me that she treats them like crap, that she has no use for people, especially women, in what she considers subservient positions. She thought I was your PA, therefore by her lights, I was worthless."

"How far do you think this disrespect for women goes?"

"Well, as long as they the right degrees, have the right kind of jobs, and marry appropriately, she's willing to treat them as equals. Why?"

Jacob didn't answer her question. Instead he had another one of his own. "That's the second time you've alluded to that. That Dr. Hadfield has a problem with some relationships. Why?

Rachel frowned in concentration. "I thought I told you? One of the nurses told me Hadfield hounded a peds intern out of the hospital when she found out the woman's husband was a carpenter." Rachel snorted. "As if he must be stupid 'cause he works with his hands. Before that, she was all in favor of her, but after she found out?" Rachel shrugged. "The nurses said that Hadfield has a medieval attitude toward relationships. A thing about people marrying beneath themselves."

Rachel looked at him curiously. "What's going on in that head of yours?"

Jacob shook his head. "I'm not sure of anything yet. We need to wait for the results of those DNA tests." He refused to elaborate.

Before Rachel could question Hood further, the courier arrived. After giving her detailed instructions to a pass along to the lab, Jacob suggested that they return to their hotel for some much needed rest.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Jacob awoke with a gasp, his heart pounding in his chest. He sat up in bed breathing deeply and willing his heart rate to return to normal. He grimaced at the stickiness he felt in his groin as the memories of his dream, his _very_ erotic dream washed over him. He had awakened as he was about to bury his cock deep in the hot wetness between a pair of firm thighs.

He covered his face in his hands as more memories from his dream came back to him. Memories of his fingers tangling in long blonde hair, of caressing a pair of soft breasts, of kissing a taut belly. Of making passionate love to Rachel.

Flicking a glance at the connecting door between their rooms, Jacob cautiously got out of bed and headed to the bathroom. He hoped that Rachel hadn't wakened. The last thing he needed was to have her pop in and ask him if he was all right.

After cleaning himself off, Jacob washed his hands and splashed cold water over his face. Looking at himself in the mirror, he frowned at the touch of silver in the hair at his temples. _'Christ, I'm too old for this shit.'_ He considered the matter. _'I must have been what, 17, the last time I had a wet dream.'_

He knew what triggered this particular dream. He obviously was more affected by her pressing up against him, her suggestive conversation with Hadfield than he wanted to admit. _'That and the fact that it's been a long time since I've had sex.' _Shaking his head, he quietly went back to bed.

He stretched out, contemplating the darkness, willing sleep to return. _'Maybe Anna is right, maybe it is time for me to move on. I should follow up on that phone call, take her out to dinner.'_

A small voice in the back of his head snorted in amusement. _'Face it, you've already moved on. And it's not Anna Yang you want to move on with. You know damn well you have no interest in her, she's Maggie's friend, that's all. '_

It was true. Anna could never be anything but a friend, her association in his mind with Maggie was to firmly held. The idea of taking her to bed, of doing more than kissing her on the cheek, felt wrong.

But that didn't mean that he felt anything more than friendship for Rachel.

The little voice jeered at him. _'Ok, so we're lying to ourselves now? After that dream?'_

Jacob shook his head. _'Nonsense. That dream didn't mean anything; it was just a reaction to the ridiculous situation Rachel engineered tonight.'_

He reflected on how things had changed between them in the time they had worked together. At first, they had mutually resented each other. He didn't see the need for a handler slash bodyguard and resented what he saw as their interference in his work. Rachel had resented being pulled from Counter-terrorism and being posted to the EPD, to his detail. Counter-terrorism had been her dream job. But things were different now.

Professionally, they considered themselves partners, colleagues. It had been a long time since Rachel had referred to him as her 'responsibility.' Her sharp mind, her determination, her down-right stubborn refusal to fail had won his respect. The work Rachel did was as vital to solving the problems they encountered as his scientific insights.

On the personal level, they had formed a quiet friendship. He enjoyed her quick wit and sense of humor. He appreciated her ability to keep him grounded, to stop him from getting lost in his head. The unexpected flashes of vulnerability when a case cut to close to the bone had allowed him to get to know the woman she carefully kept hidden behind her special agent persona. Those things, along with the experiences they shared, had combined to form a bond between them.

'_And the fact that she's got pretty face and a killer body is of no interest to you at all?' _inquired the little voice.

'_Absolutely not.' _Jacob was firm with himself. _'We're friends, that's all.'_

'_Christ, Jacob, are you sure you're not the one who died?' _The little voice was incredulous_. 'She's smart, she's funny, she's sexy as hell and you're not interested?'_

When they had first been introduced he had noted her beauty and dismissed it. It was irrelevant to his evaluation of her qualifications to be his handler slash bodyguard. But over the last few months he was beginning to realize that he _was_ interested. He did find Rachel desirable and he was beginning to want more from their relationship.

But Rachel was the consummate professional. Part of her training in the EPD dealt with the need to keep a certain distance between the two of them. While she was clearly comfortable with their growing friendship he was sure that _she_ had never thought about _him_ as a possible lover. She'd probably be horrified if she knew he had begun to think about her like that.

'_No, she thinks of me as a middle-aged, absent-minded professor.'_ Jacob turned over in his bed, ready to fall asleep again.

'_That's true.' _The little voice was regretful_. 'I wonder though,' t_he little voice continued thoughtfully as Jacob slid into sleep._ 'The thing with the handcuffs? Do you think she ever really….'_

Jacob drifted off with a small smile tugging at his lips.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Rachel snapped awake at the sound of Hood moving about in his room. Wearily she levered herself up on an elbow to find the clock on the nightstand. _'Shit, 2:00 a.m.? Please god, don't let him be up and ready to work.'_ Rachel sighed with relief as she heard the water running in his bathroom and the rustle of the covers as he climbed back into bed.

She eyed the connecting door and wondered if she should go check on him. No, he had only awakened to use the bathroom and was going back to sleep. Lying back down Rachel snuggled into her pillows.

But sleep didn't come that easily. Instead she started thinking about her little performance in front of Hadfield. She shook her head ruefully. _'I can't believe I let that woman get to me like that. Thank god Hood has a sense of humor. I'd be in big trouble if he complained to the Director. I can't believe I was so unprofessional.'_ She giggled softly to herself, remembering the look on Hadfield's face. _'But it was funny.'_

Recalling the look on Hood's face sobered her up. He did have a wicked, off-beat sense of humor, but still. He had looked at her so oddly that for a moment she had thought he was going to say something, reprimand her. She had been relieved that he had taken the situation so well.

The fact that Hood hadn't minded didn't make what she did any more acceptable. _'I'm getting to comfortable with him, starting to think of him, treat him, as a friend, not an assignment.'_

She _had_ become comfortable with him. They were building a real friendship, had begun teasing each other, sharing little in-jokes, finishing each other's sentences. It was why she had felt free to pull that stunt with him earlier. She had been sure he's see the humor in the situation.

One part of her rationalized that her friendship with Hood was perfectly appropriate. It made her job as his bodyguard much easier, he was more cooperative, more willing to follow her directions. Plus, it enhanced their working relationship. As a team they were more effective in discovering the solutions to the problems they investigated.

The other part of her acknowledged that the EPD insisted on boundaries between agent and protectee for a good reason. But it was becoming harder and harder to keep those boundaries in place with Hood. _'I should never have let him call me Rachel.'_ She sighed. _'I should have kept him at arm's length, not let him get so close.'_

But the nature of their work kept them on the road for days, sometimes weeks at a time, working closely together. It was inevitable that the boundaries would crack. And she had let Hood exploit every single one of those cracks. She enjoyed spending time with him. He was intelligent, interesting, funny, and had a kindness about him that drew her to him. The fact that he was handsome and had the most amazing eyes was totally beside the point.

'_I like him too much.'_ Her eyes widened. _'Shit, no, I don't like like him. I, ah, just like him, friend-like him.'_ But deep down inside Rachel knew that her feelings for Hood were starting to veer over the line.

'_Face it Rachel, you enjoyed that little scene tonight. Snuggling into him, touching him.'_ Normally Hood dressed in layers, shirts, sweaters, jackets. Tonight, however, he had shed his jacket while working in the office. Leaning up against him, she could feel through his shirt how firm the muscles of his arm, his chest felt. _'He felt good, I wonder what it would be like….'_

Rachel broke off that thought sharply. _'Shit, he's a grieving widower_. _He'd_ _probably be horrified it he knew I had begun to think about him like that.'_

Rachel sighed. No, it was much too dangerous to ever allow herself to think of Hood as anything other than a friend. That was the pathway to professional suicide. She had worked too hard and too long to get where she was. Too hard to throw it all away on a school girl crush.

'_Which is all this is.' _Rachel told herself firmly. Turning on her side, Rachel resolved that she would start re-enforcing the boundaries between them. Tomorrow. Or if not tomorrow, soon. Very soon.

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By mid-afternoon Rachel was ready to kill Hood. At breakfast, when she asked about their program for the day, he was vague. When she suggested that it was time to get to the hospital, he demurred. There were other things he wanted to do first. But he refused to give her any explanations.

To her astonishment, he insisted they head over to the local high school. They were soon facing the shelves containing the library's collection of yearbooks.

Jacob eyed Rachel speculatively. "What year did you graduate from high school?"

"What? Why?

"You're what, 30?" Jacob explained patiently. "I would assume, given how old Claudia Hogan told us these women were last night, that you would have graduated three years after Jill Siddons and six years after Claudia." He gestured at the ranks of books. "It will give us the right range of books to check."

"I'm 29." Rachel sniffed. She added grudgingly, "but I see what you mean." She pulled two books part way off the shelf. We'll need these two and the ones in between."

She and Hood were soon settled at a table in the library with the yearbooks. Ignoring the curious looks of the students around them, she leaned across the table and whispered, "Ok, so what exactly are we looking for?"

"Any mention of our four women."

They spent the entire morning combing through the yearbooks. While she couldn't see the point of it, Rachel began to enjoy the exercise. She smiled over the fashions and hairstyles of her own teenage years. Every time either one of them came across a mention of one of the women they would share it with the other.

Gradually the picture of four young women who were active and popular in high school began to emerge. Rachel was surprised to see Terry Martel, future librarian, pictured as the head cheerleader her senior year. Unsurprising was the fact that Claudia Hogan was exercising her political skills even then. She was in the picture of the class officers every year she was in high school. Each of the other women had made their mark on the school.

It was lunchtime when they finished. Hood had given the librarian what Rachel thought of as his "little-boy" smile. The one that made the years fall away from his face and, if she wasn't careful, made the breath catch in her throat. He used the smile to convince the woman to let him borrow the yearbooks for each woman's senior year.

He once again surprised her when he vetoed her suggestion that they have lunch at the hospital. Instead he wanted to have lunch at a nearby diner.

Her exasperation mounted when, after being shown a booth, Hood slid into the bench seat beside her rather than sitting opposite her as normal. She gritted her teeth at the feeling of his thigh pressing into hers. She wondered if this was payback for the _incident_ last night.

Shifting subtly, trying to put some space between them in the narrow booth, Rachel faced Hood. "So, what was this morning all about? I mean, don't get me wrong, I enjoyed our little trip down memory lane, but what was the point?"

"How would you describe these women, as high-school students?" Jacob looked at her intently. "Forget what we know about them now; just go on what you saw in the yearbooks."

"Well," Rachel looked thoughtful. "I'd say that they were all go-getters." She considered what they had seen. "They were bright, in the Honor Society pictures. Involved in a lot of different kinds of activities."

"Good." Jacob encouraged her. "Now think about those activities. What stands out in your mind?"

Rachel closed her eyes and mentally reviewed the pictures. She opened them and said slowly, "in just about any activity they were involved in they ended up in leadership positions."

"Exactly." Jacob sounded satisfied. He then turned to the pages he had marked in each book. "You see, in their senior year, each woman was elected "most likely to succeed" by her classmates."

Rachel raised her eyes to Hood, puzzled. "Why do you think that's significant? What does it have to do with their babies having a genetic defect?"

Jacob didn't answer her question; he asked one of his own. "The prediction? Do you think it came true for them?"

"Sure. They're all successful women. They're doing well financially; hold responsible positions in the community."

She cocked her head and looked at Hood appraisingly. "Again, why do you think this is significant? What does it have to do with the genetic defect that brought us here?"

Jacob leaned back in the booth and rubbed his face. "I'm not sure yet. It depends on if what I suspect about the babies genetic make-up is true or not."

"What, what do you suspect? Come on Hood. You need to let me in on what's going on in that head of yours."

But Jacob would only shake his head stubbornly. "No, it's merely a hypothesis and a rather wild one at that. I need more data."

Rachel felt like killing him.


	3. Chapter 3

The rest of the afternoon passed slowly. Rachel tried prying information out of Hood, but he refused to be drawn. He would only repeat that his hypothesis was rather extreme and that he would prefer to wait for more data.

His data finally showed up around dinner time. The FBI courier from Portland brought the results from the lab.

"Ok, Hood, here's your damn data." Rachel practically threw the envelopes at Hood.

Jacob took them with a smile. He knew his refusal to answer her questions had tried her patience. He was soon absorbed in the reports from the lab. Rachel watched him curiously as he studied the papers. She could see what he was reading disturbed him. She settled back to wait for him to finish, to be ready to share his thoughts with her.

Rachel was lost in a day dream when her attention was wrenched back to the present by Hood swearing loudly. She blinked at the angry look on his face. "I take it your wild idea wasn't so wild after all? What did the test results tell you?"

"That something very wrong is going on here." Jacob looked at her grimly, "and Hadfield is most likely at the bottom of it."

"Why, what did you find out?" Rachel went to stand beside the desk where Hood had spread out his papers.

"The DNA results on the infants and their parents. They don't match up."

Rachel's jaw dropped. "You mean the husbands aren't the fathers? Shit, Jimmy Danvers probably _will _beat the crap out of me if we ask his wife who she was having an affair with."

"I highly doubt any of these women were having an affair. Not only doesn't the paternal DNA match any of the putative fathers, but it's all the same. These infants were all fathered by the same man."

"Maybe they were all having an affair with the same man." Rachel offered. "It's a small town. Maybe some local Lothario."

Jacob shot her a skeptical look. "I doubt it. Think about it Rachel, these women were all actively trying to become pregnant. Do you honestly think they would be having an affair, having unprotected sex with another man, under those circumstances?"

She nodded reluctantly. "But how else can you explain what happened? I mean, some guy's sperm didn't get inside them accidentally. And what does Hadfield have to do with this?"

"That's why I said my hypothesis is so extreme." Jacob took a deep breath. "I think that Hadfield aborted their original pregnancies and then artificially inseminated them with another man's sperm. "

Rachel looked at him in horror. "No, no, that can't be. That's like something out of a bad movie. What put that idea into your head?"

"A lot of things. There's Hadfield's attitude toward people marrying beneath them. From what we can see all of the women involved here have done that. From their teenage years these women have been leaders, people expected them to succeed.

They all have advanced degrees and hold professional positions here in the community. Their husbands, on the other hand, seem to lack academic credentials and perform manual labor. You told me yourself that Hadfield had a problem with that."

Rachel nodded, acknowledging Hood's point.

"Then there's her attitude that people in subservient positions must be stupid. Again, that would be a generalized description of the men these women married.

Hadfield would consider that they had thrown away their potential. For her, any success they may have achieved has been tainted by their choice of husbands. They all married men who seem to be their intellectual inferiors."

Jacob continued. "Finally, there's the incontrovertible fact that each of these women, after miscarrying, became pregnant with another man's child while under Hadfield's care."

"The sex schedules." Rachel blurted out. "They were for the exact opposite reason than what she told them."

Jacob nodded. "Exactly, she would inseminate the women, but she would want to make sure that they didn't have sex with their husbands during a fertile period, risk the chance of them conceiving naturally. She probably thought she was doing these women a favor, giving their offspring a better genetic heritage."

"How could she think she could get away with this?"

Jacob shrugged. "Easy. No one would have noticed if it wasn't for the protein deficiency. Children don't always physically resemble their parents. It's Hadfield's bad luck that the sperm she selected wasn't screened properly for genetic defects"

Rachel considered what Hood had said. In a scary, sci-fi-ish way, it made sense. A sick sense, but sense.

"Ok, even if you are right, how can we prove it? Hadfield will point the finger at the women, claim that they had affairs. It might destroy their marriages, their lives here in Crawford."

Jacob bit his lip and titled his head. "Well, I do have an idea, but it depends on you."

"Me?"

"Uh-huh. How good an actress are you?"

Rachel looked at Hood apprehensively. "Why, what do you want me to do?"

"You did such an excellent job of convincing her that we were, uh, involved."

"I already apologized..."

Jacob cut her off. "No, I need you to take it a step further." His cheeks turned pink. "I need you to tell her that you're pregnant."

"You want me to what?" Rachel's voice scaled up a notch or two.

"I need you to tell her that you're pregnant. And, uh," Jacob added, coloring up even more, "that we're very happy about it."

"Happy?" Rachel asked faintly. "Why?"

"We know she considers you an unsuitable person for me to be having a relationship with. I'd like to know what she would do if faced with the fact that you were pregnant with my child."

Rachel and Jacob starred at each other as his words hung in the air between them. _Pregnant with my child._

Rachel recovered first. "Ok, but why is it important that she think we're happy that I'm pregnant?

Jacob swallowed. "Uh, well." He collected his thoughts. "I want to see if she offers to prescribe anything for you. If I'm right, she may give you something to make you miscarry. I don't want her to claim later that you came to her hoping for a discreet abortion."

"She could still claim that," Rachel pointed out. "It would my word against hers. She'd say that we set her up."

"Not if you recorded your conversation."

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Rachel discovered by checking with Hadfield's answering service that the doctor was holding early office hours that morning. Parking their rental car down the block; she prepared for her meeting with the not-so-good doctor.

"Remember," Jacob said suddenly. "Don't ask her to prescribe anything. Let her take the lead."

Rachel huffed impatiently. "I _think_ I can handle this Hood. I know how to lead a conversation so that I don't entrap a suspect." She raised her eyebrows as Hood unbuckled his seat belt. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I still say I should go with you."

"No." Rachel shook her head decisively. "I told you. This will work best if you're nowhere near her office. " She held up her hand as Hood opened his mouth to protest. "Yes, it's important that she thinks we're happy about this pregnancy, but for her to buy the story I'm going to spin her, I have to be on my own."

Giving Hood a grin, Rachel got out of the car. "Be right back _daddy._"

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By flashing her badge and invoking Hood's name, Rachel had managed to get past the receptionist and in to see Hadfield. Looking at the woman, Rachel had to force herself to smile, to act naturally. If what Hood suspected was true, she would enjoy putting this bitch away.

Hadfield regarded Rachel coldly. "Yes, Agent Young. What can I do for you today?"

Rachel took a deep breath and rushed into conversation. "Uh, I was wondering. You seemed so sure that this genetic defect was natural, that nothing in the environment caused it. Are you still sure? You're positive there's nothing here in Crawford that caused the mutation?"

"I'd stake my professional reputation on it. I know that Dr. Hood feels differently, but, frankly, I'm more familiar with these cases. The syndrome isn't that well known, well documented, but I've studied it extensively. Everything I've seen makes me sure that this is just an act of God."

Rachel closed her eyes and gave a sigh of relief. "Good, could you please tell Jacob that? He can't find anything to contradict you, but he hates to give up without finding a definite explanation." She leaned forward to whisper "you see, he's something of an atheist, he doesn't believe in acts of god."

Rachel sat back with a look of satisfaction on her face. "But I know he respects you. He thinks you're an excellent doctor. If anyone could convince him that Crawford is safe, it would be you."

"Safe?" Hadfield looked at Rachel curiously. "That's an odd term to use, why would you worry about Crawford being safe?"

"Well, it's just, I'm, well, I'm pregnant."

Hadfield looked shocked. "You're pregnant? Are you sure?"

Rachel nodded and smiled softly. She let her hand drift down to her belly. "Umhm. We've been trying for a few months now and I just took the test this morning." She gave Hadfield a worried look. "Normally, I'd have told Jacob like a shot, he'll be so thrilled." She bit her lip. "But I'm afraid that once he knows he'll want me to leave, go back to D.C."

"Why?" Hadfield was trying hard to absorb this news.

"Because," Rachel explained patiently. "He'll be afraid that something bad might happen to our baby." She smiled. "He's been so excited about being a father I know he'll want to protect us. But I don't want to leave him. That's why I thought I'd ask for your help. I'm sure that if you tell him we'll be fine, he'll let me stay."

She looked at Hadfield seriously. "I wouldn't stay if I agreed with Jacob. I'd never do anything to put our baby at risk. But he can't find anything and you know the situation so well….." Rachel took a deep breath. "I think that if you tell him it's perfectly safe for me here and I promise to take care of myself, take my vitamins and stuff then maybe he won't worry so much."

Hadfield sat very still and looked at Rachel. Rachel, for her part, was afraid that Hadfield wouldn't rise to the bait. Finally, Hadfield seemed to come to some kind of decision.

"Yes, that's an excellent plan, I'd be glad to speak to Dr. Hood for you." The woman paused. "You do know that you need special vitamins don't you? Prenatal vitamins."

Rachel nodded vigorously. "Yeah, I was going to stop at the drugstore after I left here."

"Oh, no need for that." Hadfield got smoothly to her feet and went to a cabinet in the corner of her office. "I have a sample pack here that a drug rep left with me. They're the latest thing. Why don't I give them to you?"

It took all of Rachel's training to keep from pumping her fist in the air and cheering. Hadfield had taken the bait. Instead she smiled at the doctor and took a proffered blister pack of pills.

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Rachel hung over Hood's shoulder as he peered into his microscope. "So, what are they? Don't tell me they're really vitamins?"

After leaving Hadfield's office, Rachel and Hood had gone straight to the hospital. Rachel had no trouble commandeering lab space for Hood. It didn't take him long to determine the chemical composition of the pills.

"No, they're hardly vitamins." Hood's flat tone and the look on his face told Rachel that he had been right in his assumptions about what Hadfield had been doing. "They're misoprostol and prostaglandin mixed in with some inert sugar pills. If you _had_ been pregnant you wouldn't have been for long after taking them."

At Rachel's blank look he elaborated. "They're the drugs given to induce an abortion. They're taken in two steps. The prostaglandin thins the lining of the uterus, weakening the attachment of the fetus. Then the misoprostol causes cramping, causes the uterus to expel the fetus."

Rachel's brow creased. "But what's with the sugar pills? Why did she include them?"

"To make it look normal. You would expect to be taking a vitamin daily."

"But that, that's…" Rachel looked at Hood in shock.

"It's murder Rachel, as far as I'm concerned she's nothing but a cold-blooded murderer. Those women, their husbands, they never asked for, they never wanted an abortion. She murdered their children."

"Maybe." Rachel looked at Hood thoughtfully. "I'm not sure where Oregon stands on this issue, but it could be the most be could get her on in performing illegal abortions, maybe criminal assault."

Jacob shook his head stubbornly. "No, it's murder. She deliberately killed those fetuses for her own purposes." He looked at Rachel. "Doesn't that tape give you enough to arrest her? Now?"

This was always the hard part. Hood might be a brilliant biophysicist, but he was impatient with the details needed to nail down a case. Just because something was clear to him didn't mean that it would hold up in a court of law.

"Yes, the tape shows that she's performing illegal abortions, maybe even criminal assault. But they could only charge her on one count, for me. And it would be a weak case, since I'm not really pregnant. We don't have any evidence that she did this with the other women."

"That's ridiculous," Jacob sputtered. "What about the miscarriages? The DNA panels? The fact that all of those infants have the same father?"

"Yes, that's strong circumstantial evidence." Rachel explained patiently. "But we need more. We need to question those women. Find out if Hadfield did give them those vitamin packs. And," she raised her eyebrows at Hood. "We need to find out where the hell she got the sperm. I mean, that's not the kind of thing you can order off the Internet is it?"

Jacob's shoulders slumped and he looked at Rachel sadly. "We have to tell them, don't we? You know that this is going to devastate them. They trusted her and she betrayed them.

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Jacob and Rachel argued as to what would be the best way to proceed. Jacob was in favor of full disclosure; he wanted to inform the women and their husbands immediately what Hadfield had done to them. Rachel wasn't so sure. She felt that they should question the women first, try to nail down the case a bit more.

They decided that since it was lunchtime they would check out the NICU. They knew that the women were in the habit of going to the hospital at mid-day to breast-feed their children. With luck, they would find one or more of them in the nursery.

They were in luck. As they arrived at the NICU, they met all three of the women leaving. Jacob told them that it was imperative that he speak with them and Jill Siddons immediately. Preferably away from the hospital. One glance at the grim looks on his and Rachel's faces convinced the women that they should postpone their afternoon appointments in favor of this meeting. They agreed to meet at Tracey's library.

On the way to the library, Rachel had convinced Hood to let her begin the questioning. They needed to know if Hadfield had prescribed any _special_ meds for the women. After all, if she hadn't, this would prove to be a very large hole in Hood's hypothesis. They would then have to reconsider their approach.

Rachel began her questioning carefully; she didn't want to be accused later of suggesting answers to the women. "What Dr. Hood and I need to know is if Dr. Hadfield ever gave you anything; well, not unusual, but different."

The women looked at Rachel in bewilderment. "Different, what do you mean?"

Rachel chewed her lip thoughtfully. "Yesterday you told us that Dr. Hadfield monitored you all pretty closely. I, we were wondering what that meant."

Claudia shrugged. "Mostly it meant she had us in for weekly visits. Blood and urine tests weekly…"

Jill made a face. "Weekly internal exams. I hated that part."

Rachel framed her next question carefully. "You mentioned something about nutritional counseling?"

Jill answered immediately, "When I got pregnant the first two times, she gave me some sample packs of vitamins, the kind the drug reps give the doctors to try out. Is that the kind of thing you mean?"

Jacob and Rachel looked at each other in triumph. "Yeah," Rachel replied. "That's exactly the kind of thing I mean." She looked at the others. "How about any of you? Did Hadfield give you any samples?"

The women confirmed that all of them had received sample vitamins from Hadfield. Jacob's lips tightened, while he was pleased to see his hypothesis proven correct, he couldn't believe what had happened to these women.

"There's one more thing," Rachel hesitated. She knew her next question would tip the women off that they suspected Hadfield of wrongdoing. "The vitamins? I know it's been a while, but did any of you save the packaging?"

Jacob's eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't considered the matter but Rachel was right. If he could analyze any of the packaging, find traces of the drugs, it would be damning evidence against Hadfield.

"Why?" Claudia asked sharply. "What the hell are you getting at? Why do you need the packs the vitamins came in?" The other women murmured their agreement, looking at Jacob and Rachel suspiciously. "What aren't you telling us?"

Jacob looked at Rachel; she shrugged and raised her eyebrows. Clearly it was time for him to take over. He slowly outlined his hypothesis. The women looked at him, stunned. When they expressed their disbelief, he had Rachel play the tape of her conversation with Hadfield.

"I analyzed the pills she gave Rachel," Jacob explained. "They're drugs used to induce abortions. That's why we wanted to know what, if anything, she had prescribed for you."

"That's why you wanted the packaging – to see if there were any traces of the drugs." Barbara said.

Rachel nodded. "It would help bolster the case against her." She shrugged. "Just because she gave them to me, doesn't prove what she did to you. So if any of you still had the packs…."

The four women looked at each other doubtfully. Finally, Tracey said quietly. "I might."

With tears in her eyes, she explained that she and her husband had been so thrilled when the home pregnancy test was positive, they had immediate bought a few baby things. A pair of booties, a blanket, a sleeper set. When she had miscarried, she had swept everything that reminded her of the pregnancy into a box and stored it in her garage. She was sure that included the medications Hadfield had given her.

Jacob insisted they go to Tracey's house immediately. After searching through her garage for some minutes they finally found the box. Rachel was relieved when a pack similar to the one she had been given by Hadfield turned up. Jacob and Rachel promised the women that they would return as soon as Jacob had analyzed the package. They left as the women were preparing to call their husbands.

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It didn't take long for Jacob to run a test on the packaging Tracey had given them. It tested positive for traces of both the prostaglandin and misoprostol. Rachel inhaled sharply at the look on Hood's face; she had rarely seen him so angry.

"There's your proof Rachel, she's a murderer. We need to arrest her and we need to do it now. Before she can abort another woman's baby."

Rachel hesitated; she didn't think they could arrest Hadfield on murder charges. She needed to talk this over with someone who was familiar with the law in Oregon. When she told Hood that it wasn't the right time to arrest Hadfield; Jacob was disgusted. He wanted to confront the woman directly. Rachel disagreed.

"No, if you do that, you'll only give her time to destroy evidence, maybe take off. What I really need to do now is talk to Claudia Hogan and Jimmy Danvers. They'll have the connections we need to wrap this thing up."

Jacob grudgingly agreed to wait, but only until the next day.

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Four angry men confronted Rachel and Hood when they arrived at the Martel home. They refused to believe Jacob's reasoning behind the illegal abortions. They were found it hard to believe that the woman would go to such lengths merely because she disapproved of their choice of jobs.

"You don't understand," Rachel finally interrupted. "According to the gossip I picked up at the hospital, she has a real problem with people who don't marry their intellectual equals, as she defines it. Didn't your wives tell you about the tape of our conversation? How she was prepared to abort my pregnancy because she doesn't consider me _worthy_ of Hood?"

Rachel flushed slightly as she realized how she had worded that last sentence. "Not that I'm really pregnant or we're involved or anything."

"But why in the hell would she think we're stupid? That bitch doesn't even know us." Jimmy Danvers looked at Hood and Rachel through narrowed eyes. "That's why your theory doesn't make sense, she barely spoke to me the whole time Barbara was her patient. Why would she think I'm," he gestured to the other men around them, "that any of us are stupid?"

"Technically, it's not a theory," Jacob began. Rachel cut him off quickly. She didn't think anyone in the room was up for a lecture on the difference between a theory and a hypothesis.

"You're a cop," she stated. "Trust me; I know plenty of intellectuals who think the mere fact that you're a cop means you're stupid." She shot Hood a small grin. "That you're just empty headed gorilla who likes to push people around."

Jacob flushed guiltily. He _had_ used those words about some of his previous handlers.

"The rest of you? You all work with your hands, manual labor. The Hadfields of this world think the only people who do that are illegals and people too stupid to get _real_ jobs."

"We're stupid because we work with our hands?" David Martel was incredulous. "How in the hell could she come to that conclusion? That is the most absurd syllogism I've ever heard of." The other men nodded angrily.

Rachel merely shrugged at David's reaction.

"What can I say? She makes huge assumptions. She's smart so it never occurs to her that she might be wrong. She based her opinion of me strictly on my appearance. She decided I was an appendage of Hood's even though she heard me being introduced as Special Agent Young. She thought I was nothing more than a go-fer."

A small smile tugged at Rachel's lips at the guilty look on Jimmy Danvers' face. It seems Hadfield hadn't been the only one to make assumptions about her role in Hood's work, his life. Obviously the local cops, like the nurses, had been speculating about their relationship.

She briskly returned to the business at hand. "What we need now are warrants. I want to make sure that this is done right; I don't want to give that bitch and her lawyer any loopholes to wiggle out of."

Jacob interrupted. "She should be charged with murder, plain and simple. And the sooner the better. The longer we wait, the greater the chance of her doing this to another woman."

"No," Claudia shook her head. "Not here in Oregon. What she did wouldn't be considered murder." She overrode Jacob's protests. "No, the most we could get her for is criminal assault, fraud, and illegal abortions."

Jimmy Danvers looked at Rachel expectantly. "What do you need from me?"

"We have probable cause to get warrants to search her patient files, her home and work computers, and her personal and business banking records. We need to see if she kept any records of what she did you your wife and the others and where she got the sperm. Plus it would be good if we could get an arrest warrant. Get her contained while we comb through her paper trails. Got a friendly judge?"

Jimmy smiled slowly. "Oh yeah, I've got the perfect judge. Garland Bigley."

The others looked at Jimmy in surprise. "I thought you couldn't stand her," Matt objected. "You always claim that she's a fascist."

"She is." Jimmy looked amused. "She's also fanatically pro-life. If I tell her we suspect Hadfield is performing illegal abortions she'll give us whatever we want."

"Jason Fisher will help us." Claudia added. At Rachel's look she elaborated. "He's the assistant prosecuting attorney and he owes me a favor. He'll file the applications for the warrants without asking too many questions."

Rachel's smile took on a feral quality. This was exactly what she needed, a co-operative prosecutor, a tame judge, and willing allies on the local force. For once it was going to be a pleasure to work with the local LEOs to bring down the bad guy.

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Things went smoothly. After huddling with Rachel and Claudia, the local prosecutor filled out applications for the warrants Rachel wanted. They decided to arrest Hadfield for providing Rachel with a controlled substance without a proper prescription. That way they could keep what happened to the women confidential, at least for now. Fisher had been shocked by the story they told him; he knew it would be best to keep a sensational tale like that quiet for as long as possible.

As Jimmy Danvers predicted, once the judge heard that a doctor was suspected of performing illegal abortions, she didn't even bother to read the applications. Within an hour of entering the courthouse, Rachel and Hood were ready to go.

Jimmy wanted to be the one to arrest Hadfield, but Rachel managed to convince him to leave it to others. She went so far as to insist that the state police be called in to make the arrest and serve the warrants; she didn't want to have any of the local force involved since the case touched on of their own.

As soon as Hadfield was taken into custody, Jacob and Rachel went to search her home and office.

Jacob wanted to do a thorough search of the office; Rachel vetoed this idea. It would take days if not weeks to do a proper search. She wanted to concentrate on the material they would need to prove the case at hand. The locals could deal with any other wrong-doing on the part of the doctor later.

They only took the files pertaining to the four women and any correspondence they could find between Hadfield and any drug companies or suppliers. Rachel also took Hadfield's office computer.

They were surprised to find so little in her home. A single file drawer contained all of her bank statements, bills, and credit card receipts. There was no record of any correspondence, but there was a laptop which Rachel confiscated. Rachel then made a call to her contacts at the Bureau. Armed with a warrant for Hadfield's Internet service provider, they would be able to gain access to the woman's email and other internet activity.

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Rachel and Jacob had decided that she would go through Hadfield's home files while he would handle the patient files. He needed to compare them to the files she had provided him previously to see if there were any discrepancies. They had been working for about an hour when Rachel lifted her head, puzzled.

"Did we mix-up some of the files?"

Jacob looked up from the files he was reading. "No, I don't think so, why?"

"I've got patient files here, they were tucked in with her bank statements."

Jacob sat forward abruptly. "Let me guess, those are the files on our women."

"Not much of a surprise," Rachel began before Hood cut her off.

"Let me see them." Jacob practically snatched the papers from Rachel's hands.

After glancing through them quickly, Jacob went back and slowly compared them to the files he had been working on. A slow smile spread across his face. "Got her," he breathed.

Jacob quickly explained to Rachel that these were the real records of the four women and their pregnancies. The records they had found at Hadfield's office, and the ones she had provided them in the hospital had been sanitized. The woman couldn't resist, however, having a complete, accurate account of what she had done.

"But why," Rachel asked, puzzled. "Why keep these? Doesn't she realize how damning this evidence is?"

"She's arrogant." Jacob stated simply. "She never dreamed her little social engineering project would be discovered. She wanted to document what she did, keep tabs on what went well, what didn't." He looked at Rachel somberly. "For future reference, for other patients."

His brow creased. "But why keep them with her banking, financial records?"

Rachel flattened out the bank statements that had been attached to each patient file. She noted that each bank statement contained a record of a check made out for the same amount. Rachel silently blessed the fact that the local bank was still providing its customers with cancelled checks.

It didn't take her long to find the four checks in question – all made out to the same man. She looked up at Hood smugly. "Looks like I just found the sperm donor."

Acting on a hunch, Rachel did a quick search on Hadfield's home computer. She found a file that contained the man's name. She opened the file and began to skim it. Jacob became impatient waiting for Rachel to tell him what she had discovered. It was obvious form her face, that what she found disturbed her.

Jacob moved beside her, "What, what did you find?"

Rachel silently handed Hood the laptop. The file turned out to be part of Hadfield's online journal. In it she detailed how she had taken out an ad for sperm donors in the newspaper of the state university. The ad specified that candidates had to be majors in math, engineering, or the sciences and possess a certain grade point average.

Unlike a sperm bank, Hadfield had not bothered to question the young men who answered her ad about their medical history or demand proof that they were healthy. She only asked them about their grades and performed a cursory physical exam herself. Also, unlike the sperm bank, the only test she administered was an IQ test. Of the several candidates who applied, only one had met her criteria. Over the course of six months she had purchased his sperm four times.

Jacob looked at Rachel soberly. "This is enough, isn't it? Enough to put her away for a long time?"

"I think, I hope so. " Rachel shrugged. "If it was up to me, I'd throw her ass in jail and throw away the key."

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Jacob and Rachel carefully packed up their evidence making careful notes of what they found where and the significance of each item. They dropped it off at the local police station where Hadfield was being interrogated. The state officer in charge was grateful for the interruption; he was having a hard time dealing with Hadfield.

"She's totally nuts," the man declared. "There's no way anyone's getting a confession out of her. She's denying she did anything wrong. She claims those women knew all along what she was doing and they're only saying different now to cover their asses."

He added in a disgusted tone, "We even played that tape you made. She said we needed to talk to Hood privately; she did what she did 'cause she knew he'd be relieved that she was taking care of the problem his little blonde bimbo created."

Rachel turned bright red at the muffled snickers from the surrounding cops. "You won't need a confession with the documentary evidence we've found." She handed over the notes she and Hood had made. "You're right about her being nuts, she kept a complete log of what she had done in her journal. You'll find everything you need to get a conviction."

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There was one more thing Jacob wanted to do before they left Crawford. He insisted they go to the hospital for a final check on the infants and their parents. He was relieved to find, when he got there, that the parents were preparing to take their children home. He had been afraid, once the infants' parentage came to light, that the families involved might fall apart.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Rachel glanced curiously over at Hood. They had left Crawford almost a half hour ago and the man hadn't said a single word since they hit the highway. Normally, Rachel would have blessed the silence but she could see his face reflected in the window of the SUV as he stared out the window. He was clearly brooding about something.

"Ok, out with it."

"Hmm," Jacob pulled his attention to Rachel. "Out with what?"

"Whatever's bothering you. I'm enjoying the silence, but it's a little unnatural. For you to keep quiet this long something has to be bothering you."

"I hardly think I chatter like a magpie," Jacob complained. "You act as if …"

Rachel cut him off. "And now you're trying to change the subject. What's up?"

Jacob smiled ruefully, Rachel knew him to well. "I was thinking about Hadfield. She really is a brilliant doctor you know. What she did was reprehensible, but she had to be an incredibly talented doctor, researcher, to pull it off."

"I don't care how smart she is," Rachel snorted. "She's still a nutcase."

"No," Jacob disagreed. "She's not insane. She knew that what she was doing was wrong; look at how she tried to implicate those women in her actions. She's arrogant. Convinced she's smarter, better, than everyone else." He fell silent.

"And…" Rachel encouraged.

"My other handlers…"

"What about them?"

"I never thought they were stupid or inferior," Jacob began haltingly. "That they were 'empty headed gorillas who liked to push people around.' I hope that you don't think I had problems with them because…"

"You're an arrogant bastard who thinks he's smarter than everyone else?"

"Well, yes. I hope you know that I don't feel, think, that you're … " Jacob hesitated, unsure how to phrase how he felt about their partnership without revealing his growing attraction to her.

Rachel smiled at him reassuringly. "What, you don't imagine I'm beneath you?"

Jacob's lips twitched and he blushed slightly at the double entendre and the image it invoked. He huffed a small laugh. "Of, of course not."

Rachel looked at Hood quizzically, noting his pink cheeks and look of amusement. _'What the hell?'_ She mentally reviewed their conversation. Her eyes opened wide. _'Oh shit, he couldn't think I meant, that I'm implying …'_ But then again, after her performance the other night, she couldn't blame him for misinterpreting her remark. She decided not to pursue the matter further, it would only embarrass the both of them.

Instead she flicked on the radio, hoping in vain the music would fill the silence between them. Jacob, for his part, returned his attention to the passing scenery and tried very, very hard not to imagine Rachel beneath him.


End file.
